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Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank

for

The Psychology of Prejudice

Second Edition

Todd Nelson California State University – Stanislaus

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Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may be reproduced with The Psychology of Prejudice, Second Edition, by Todd Nelson, provided such reproductions bear copyright notice, but may not be reproduced in any form for any other purpose without written permission from the copyright owner. To obtain permission(s) to use the material from this work, please submit a written request to Allyn and Bacon, Permissions Department, 75 Arlington Street, Boston, MA 02116 or fax your request to 617-848-7320. ISBN 0-205-47779-8 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 09 08 07 06 05


Contents

Chapter 1.................................................................. 1

Chapter 2.................................................................. 15

Chapter 3.................................................................. 30

Chapter 4.................................................................. 44

Chapter 5.................................................................. 57

Chapter 6.................................................................. 67

Chapter 7.................................................................. 79

Chapter 8.................................................................. 94

Chapter 9.................................................................. 108

Chapter 10................................................................ 122


1

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study of Stereotyping and Prejudice

Chapter Outline

A. Defining Stereotype

1. Lippman's "Stereotype"

2. Stereotyping: From bad to neutral

3. The social-cognitive definition

4. Cultural and individual stereotypes

5. Is a stereotype an attitude?

6. Positive vs. negative stereotypes

B. Defining prejudice

1. Prejudice as negative affect

2. Prejudice as an attitude

3. Prejudice as a "social emotion"

C. The Link Between Stereotyping and Prejudice

D. Early Perspectives in Stereotyping Research

1. Measurement

2. Individual differences in stereotyping

3. Group-level explanations

E. The Social Cognition Revolution

1. Cognitive consistency theories

2. Attribution theory

F. The Social Cognition View of Stereotyping and Prejudice

1. Categorization

2. The cognitive miser

3. The motivated tactician


2

G. Why the Emphasis on African-American / WhiteIntergroup Relations?

H. Summary

Chapter Summary

The study of stereotyping and prejudice has come a long way, from its early beginnings

in the 1930's, to the very sophisticated theoretical models of present day researchers. Since the

"cognitive revolution" in social psychology, the number of theoretical and empirical articles

published in journals on stereotyping and prejudice has grown tremendously. A search of the

literature indicates that from 1977 to 2004, approximately 1,913 articles have been published on

prejudice. This interest in prejudice keeps growing among researchers for both theoretical and

applied reasons. Because it is the nature of humans to belong to various groups, the way we think

about and behave toward members of our own and other groups has important implications for

our lives and the lives of others in our community (and, more generally, the world). Kurt Lewin,

who many regard as the "father of modern social psychology," believed passionately that good

science and theory should have clear applications to addressing society's problems (Lewin,

1948). Because stereotyping and prejudice often have a strong, negative impact on social life,

researchers are continually attempting to address these problems through research and theory.

Over the last 60 years, research in stereotyping and prejudice has illuminated the content

of stereotypes, improved the ways we measure stereotyping and prejudice, and investigated the

individual and group-level factors that contribute to the formation and maintenance of prejudice.

We have also learned much about how to conceptualize the roles of personality, emotion,

cognition, and, more recently, motivation in understanding the nature of stereotyping and

prejudice. In the remainder of this book, you will read about the important issues, theories, and

problems that have been addressed by research, and you will also learn about enduring problems

that continue to challenge investigators today. This book will present the major (and some

interesting minor) theories that have been proposed over the decades, and we will attempt to put


3

them into historical and empirical context, in order to discern the utility of these theories to

present-day research and "real-world" problems.

Key Terms

Attitude

Basic Category

Cultural Stereotype

Discrimination

Individual Stereotype

Ingroup

Minimal Group

Motivation

Outgroup

Prejudice

Realistic Conflict Theory

Schema

Stereotype

Subtyping

Additional Readings

Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley.

Dovidio, J. F., & Gaertner, S. L. (1986). Prejudice, discrimination, and racism: Historical trends

and contemporary approaches. In J. Dovidio & S. Gaertner (Eds.), Prejudice,

discrimination, and racism (pp. 1-34). New York: Academic Press.


4

Jones, E. E. (1985). Major developments in social psychology during the past five decades. In G.

Lindzey & E. Aronson (Eds.), Handbook of social psychology (3rd Ed., Vol. 1, pp. 47-

107). New York: Random House.

Jones, J. M. (1997). Prejudice and racism. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Plous, S. (Ed.) (2003). Understanding prejudice and discrimination. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Discussion Questions

1. Why do humans form groups? What are the ways that human vs. animal groups are different

in function or origin?

2. Is it possible for humans to form groups and not categorize other groups of humans? If so,

how can societies eliminate the tendency to categorize and generalize other groups?

3. How are cultural stereotypes maintained and transmitted to members of the culture?

4. Do you believe that prejudice is primarily an affect or cognition-based concept (or both)?

Why?

5. How are stereotyping and prejudice linked? Is it possible to be prejudiced toward another

group and not have stereotypes about that group (or vice-versa)?

6. What is it about the early childhood environment of the "authoritarian personality" adult, that

would lead that individual to develop prejudice toward others?


5

7. Why do you suppose that a strong motive like the motivation for consistency (e.g., as the basis

for cognitive dissonance theory) is routinely violated by those who are prejudiced toward other

groups? Are prejudiced people behaving inconsistently? If not, how are they avoiding

dissonance?

M/C Items

1. A group that we belong to is referred to as a(n):

a. social network

b. outgroup

c. ingroup

d. minimal group

ans. C

P. 1

2. When we are talking about an "outgroup", we are referring to:

a. any group to which we do not belong

b. any group which has only a loose association among its members

c. a stigmatized group

d. any group to which we aspire to belong in the future

ans. A

P. 1

3. Lippmann (1922) referred to these as "pictures in our heads."

a. our views of ourselves

b. our conceptions of how others perceive us

c. stereotypes

d. none of the above


6

ans. C

p. 4

4. According to Lippmann (1922), a stereotype can be conceptualized as a(n):

a. organized mental construct that biases social perception

b. hierarchical schema

c. prejudice released by 'nervous energy' in the presence of outgroups

d. picture in our heads

ans. D

p. 4

5. Your textbook defines a "stereotype" as:

a. a generalization about a group concerning a trait attribution, which is considered to be

unjustified by an observer

b. a set of beliefs about the personal attributes of a group of people

c. a cognitive structure that represents knowledge about a concept or stimulus


ans. B

p. 5

6. "A set of beliefs about the personal attributes of a group of people" is the way the text defines:

a. prejudice

b. schemas

c. stereotypes

d. social construals

ans. C

p. 5

7. Prejudice is defined as:


7

a. negative behavior toward someone based on their group membership

b. stereotyped attitudes toward someone based on their group membership

c. a biased evaluation of a group, based on real or imagined characteristics of the group

members


ans. C

p. 11

8. "A biased evaluation of a group, based on real or imagined characteristics of the group

members" is the way the book defines:

a. self-serving attribution

b. biased social construal

c. prejudice

d. stereotype

ans. C

p. 11

9. An "appraisal" is:

a. an estimate on the value of your home or other valuable possession

b. a set of emotions that are attached to a particular cognition

c. an organized mental structure that contains all the information about a situation, and

the way that events in that situation typically unfold

d. a set of cognitions attached to a particular emotion

ans. D

p. 9

10. According to Stangor and his colleagues (1991), the best predictor of negative outgroup

prejudice is not negative feelings, but instead:


8

a. the presence of negative cognitions about the outgroup

b. the presence of stereotypes about the outgroup

c. the lack of positive emotions about the outgroup

d. negative past behavior toward the outgroup

ans. C

p. 9

11. When someone subtypes a member of a stereotyped group, what is he/she doing?

a. creating a special category for that target individual, isolating the target from the

stereotyped outgroup, thereby allowing the perceiver to maintain stereotypes about the

outgroup and positive feelings toward the target.

b. individuating the target, and thinking about the person according to the target's unique

characteristics

c. generalizing from the target individual's positive characteristics to the stereotyped

outgroup (of which the target is a member), thereby decreasing the perceiver's negative

view of the target.


ans. A

p. 10

12. "A biased evaluation of a group, based on real or imagined characteristics of the group

members" is the book's definition of:

a. a stereotype

b. appraisal

c. schemas

d. prejudice

ans. D


9

p. 11

13. Which below was one of the problems with Dollard et al.'s "frustration – aggression

hypothesis"?

a. it couldn't explain aggression within one's own ingroup

b. subsequent research showed that not all aggression is caused by frustration

c. Dollard and his colleagues didn't account for the influence of physiological arousal

in enhancing feelings of frustration

d. the hypothesis couldn't explain aggression in cultures beyond the United States.

ans. B

p. 14

14. According to Realistic Conflict Theory, prejudice between two groups emerges when:

a. two groups are in competition for scarce resources

b. one group perceives that they are disadvantaged compared to another group

c. one group creates stereotypes about the other group


ans. A

p. 15

15. Prejudice is created when two groups are in competition for a scarce resource. This is a

definition of:

a. outgroup homogeneity effect

b. social comparison theory

c. realistic conflict theory

d. scapegoat theory

ans. C

p. 15


10

16. According to , people are motivated to maintain consistency between

their thoughts (or thoughts and behavior).

a. realistic conflict theory

b. relative deprivation theory

c. social comparison theory

d. cognitive dissonance theory

ans. D

p. 16

17. Discrimination can be defined as:

a. prejudice and stereotyping directed toward a specific outgroup

b. not treating members of outgroups like one's ingroup

c. negative behavior directed at someone based on their group membership

d. excluding members of an outgroup from one's life

ans. C

p. 6

18. An "attitude" can be defined as:

a. negative behavior toward someone, based on one's dislike for that person

b. one's construal of a particular stimulus

c. one's evaluation of a stimulus, on a good-bad continuum, for example.

d. consensually or widely shared views of a stimulus

ans. C

p. 6

19. One's evaluation of a stimulus, on a positive-negative dimension, for example, is a good

definition of:

a. attitude


11

b. schema

c. subtype

d. basic category

ans. A

p. 6

20. We automatically perceive people along 3 dimensions when we first encounter them. What is

the name for these dimensions?

a. primitive categories

b. innate social markers

c. primitive social markers

d. innate categories

ans. A

p. 19

21. "The impetus to initiate a behavior, and keep doing it, to meet one's goals" is how the book

defines:

a. social perception

b. social engagement

c. motivation

d. active interaction

ans. C

p. 22

22. Consensually or widely shared beliefs about a group are referred to as:

a. cultural stereotypes

b. schemas

c. subtypes


12

d. basic categories

ans. A

p. 6

23. When researchers are talking about "motivation," they are referring to:

a. social engagement between an individual and his/her social environment

b. emotional processes involved in social behavior that influence goal-setting in the

perceiver

c. emotional processes in social interactions between two individuals, that influence their

behavior toward each other.

d. the impetus to initiate and maintain a behavior to achieve a goal

ans. D

p. 22

24. A schema is:

a. a widely or consensually shared belief about an outgroup

b. a negative feeling directed toward an outgroup

c. negative behavior directed toward members of a stereotyped outgroup

d. an organized cognitive structure that contains knowledge about a concept and its

attributes

ans. D

p. 5

25. Adorno and his colleagues found that some people tend to think in categorical terms, are

close-minded, and are preoccupied with power relationships. These people have what he referred

to as a(n)

a. self-defeating schema

b. prejudiced world view


13

c. authoritarian personality

d. pessimistic self-schema

ans. C

p. 14

Essay Questions

1. Discuss the benefits and detriments to our tendency to live among others and form groups.

2. Are people innately prone to form stereotypes and feel prejudice toward outgroups? Why or

why not?

3. Based on your reading of the chapter, take a stand on the (still unsettled) debate on how we

ought to define stereotyping and prejudice. Choose a particular definition, and explain why your

definition is the best one. Provide specific examples and references to studies to support your

position.

4. Do you believe stereotyping is more likely to occur during times of economic hardship for a

country? Explain why you agree or disagree with that idea.

Activities

1. Pose the following question to your students: "Suppose it is your job to design a prejudice and

stereotype reduction program for the government. What would be some of the specific methods

you would use to combat prejudice and stereotyping?"

2. On the first day of class, distribute a sheet with a photo of a research assistant (or TA) of

yours, with a short questionnaire to the students. For half of the students, have the person in the

photo wear glasses. In the other photo given to the other half of the class, the person in the photo

should be pictured exactly the same, but without glasses. Below the photo, ask the students to

rate their impressions of the TA on a host of personality traits (intelligence, friendliness,


14

extraversion, etc.). Calculate the responses before the following class and discuss the results in

class. The results should support significant differences in impressions between the two groups

of students in how they viewed the person in the photo. Discuss how stereotypes may have

contributed to those first impressions and social judgments about the person in the photo.

Web Sites

www.understandingprejudice.org/baseline/ - take an online survey designed to assess your

current level of tolerance and bias toward outgroups.

www.apa.org/pubinfo/hate - The American Psychological Association's report on hate crimes

www.igc.org/igc/gateway/arnindex.html - Anti-Racism Net

www.naacp.org - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

www.adl.org - Anti-Defamation League

www.prejudiceinstitute.org - The Prejudice Institute

www.civilrightsmuseum.org - the National Civil Rights Museum.

www.spssi.org - Division 9 of APA, the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.

www.apa.org/divisions/div45/ - Division 45 of APA, the Society for the Psychological Study of

Ethnic Minority Issues.

www.partnersagainsthate.org - a collaboration between the Anti-Defamation League, the

Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Fund, and the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence


15

Chapter 2: Origin and Maintenance of Stereotypes and Prejudice

Chapter Outline

A. The formation of stereotypes

1. Categorization

2. Why we categorize

3. Types of categorization

4. In-groups and out-groups

5. Social learning

a. Childhood intergroup contact

b. Value transmission in families

c. Influence of stereotypes on cognition in children

d. Stereotypes and prejudice in the media

6. Implicit theories

7. The efficiency of stereotypes

B. How and why stereotypes are maintained

1. Selective attention to stereotype-relevant information

2. Subcategorization

3. Illusory correlations

4. Motivation

C. Origins of prejudice

1. Social identity theory

2. Optimal distinctiveness theory

3. Scapegoat theory

4. Relative deprivation

5. Realistic conflict theory

D. Summary


16

Chapter Summary

In this section, we have examined research and theory on the factors that contribute to the

formation of prejudice and stereotypes, and the reasons why stereotypes and prejudice persist,

even in the face of stereotype-inconsistent information. Research in social cognition has led to

great advances in our understanding of the nature of stereotyping, showing, for example, that

stereotyping is the result of the mind's normal tendency to categorize stimuli in the environment,

and is not the product of a deviant mind, or maladjusted personality. Of course, such a

conclusion does not in any way suggest that we ought to condone the endorsement of stereotyped

beliefs. Rather, it clarifies that stereotyping is an outgrowth of the innate tendency of the human

brain to categorize the world, in order to greatly simplify the amount of information it must deal

with at any given moment.

With this perspective, researchers have been able to identify the cognitive tendencies and

processes (such as illusory correlations, subcategorization) whereby we maintain the simplified

view of the world, and we maintain the cognitive efficiency (and frequent inaccuracy) that

stereotypes afford us in our daily lives. These tendencies tend to be somewhat automatic, and as

such are difficult to control. However, because one knows of stereotypes does not imply that one

endorses them, and this is an important distinction in our understanding of the difference

between high and low prejudiced persons (and we'll discuss this in detail in the next chapter).

We then explored the reasons why some people dislike other groups, and our discussion

focused on the motivational factors that lead to the development and maintenance of such

prejudices. Motivational theories for prejudice have tended to implicate the self, self-esteem, and

group-identity as factors that lead one to actively dislike other groups, in order to feel better

about oneself or one's ingroups. Current researchers are focusing on motivational explanations of

prejudice, as they have the most explanatory power and theoretical promise as a tool for


17

understanding the nature of prejudice, and we will explore this further in the final chapter, in our

discussion of future trends and unanswered questions in prejudice research.

Key Terms

Contact Hypothesis

Illusory Correlation

Implicit Theories

Ingroup

Ingroup Bias

Optimal Distinctiveness Theory

Outgroup Homogeneity

Minimal Groups

Realistic Conflict Theory

Relative Deprivation Theory

Scapegoat Theory

Social Identity Theory

Subcategorization

Superordinate Goal

Additional Readings

Devine, P. G. (1989). Stereotypes and prejudice: Their automatic and controlled components.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 5-18.

Fiske, S. T., & Neuberg, S. L. (1990). A continuum of impression formation, from category-

based to individuating processes: Influences of motivation and motivation on attention


18

and interpretation. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology

(Vol. 23, pp. 1-74). New York: Academic Press.

Jones, J. M. (1997). Prejudice and racism (2nd Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Kunda, Z., & Sinclair, L. (1999). Motivated reasoning with stereotypes: Activation, application,

and inhibition. Psychological Inquiry, 10, 12-22.

Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In S.

Worchel & W. G. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 7-24). Chicago:

Nelson.

Discussion Questions

1. After reviewing the research on the automatic nature of stereotyping, what do you think about

Macrae et al's (1997) suggestion that seeing a category word will evoke the associated

stereotypes, but seeing a member from that category may not necessarily evoke stereotypes

(because the perceiver may categorize the individual on another salient dimension)?

2. How do your salient in-groups change as you go from one social situation to another, and as

you go from one social interaction to the next? How do you think this influences (or does not

influence) your tendency to perceive others according to their category membership (and to

evoke various stereotypes about other persons)?

3. In your own experiences, what sources of stereotypes (e.g., parents, television, magazines,

friends, etc.) have been most prevalent and influential?


19

4. Can you identify some major stereotypes that are communicated in today's media (movies,

magazines, television)? What are some specific examples of prejudiced or stereotypical

messages or portrayals of a group?

5. How much does feelings and thoughts of relative deprivation contribute to prejudice in the

United States today?

6. How would realistic conflict theory explain anti-immigrant attitudes?

M/C Items

1. When we perceive a person, we automatically categorize them along 3 dimensions. Which

below are the correct 3?

a. race, status, gender

b. status, gender, age

c. height, gender, race

d. age, race, gender

ans. D

p. 27

2. Our automatic categorization of people upon initially perceiving them occurs along 3

dimensions. These 3 dimensions are referred to as:

a. social schemas

b. primitive categories

c. perceptual schemas

d. basic schemas

ans. B


20

p. 28

3. The idea that all members of a group to which we do not belong tend to be more similar than

they are different is referred to as a(n):

a. prejudice

b. negative belief system

c. outgroup homogeneity effect

d. subtyping effect

ans. C

p. 29

4. Research shows that the basis for ingroup favoritism is:

a. a perceived dispositional similarity between group members

b. the common fate of one's group members

c. cohesive group structure

d. conflicts with other groups

ans. B

p. 31

5. Research supports Allport's statement that "prejudice is not taught by parents, but it is

instead by the children."

a. learned

b. modeled

c. intensified

d. caught

ans. D

p. 32


21

6. Children as young as years old show an awareness of racial cues and even show

a preference for one race over others.

a. 1-2

b. 5-6

c. 3-4


ans. C

p. 33

7. Corenblum et al (1996) and by Aboud (2003) asked majority and minority group children to

explain successful performances by minority group members. Results indicated that minority

group members attributed the success to , and majority group members

attributed the success to .

a. effort, effort

b. effort, luck

c. luck, luck

d. luck, effort

ans. C

p. 35

8. An "implicit theory" is:

a. an unconscious attitude toward a stimulus

b. a shared group belief about an outgroup

c. predictions about outgroup behavior

d. beliefs about the nature of personality

ans. D

p. 36


22

9. The idea that prejudice will be eliminated when two groups are together in the same location is

known as the:

a. contact hypothesis

b. superordinate goal

c. optimal-distinctiveness theory


ans. A

p. 52

10. According to the realistic conflict theory:

a. we all have a need for positive self-esteem, and that motivates us to favor our ingroups

and derogate outgroups

b. when groups perceive they are at a disadvantage compared to an outgroup, they feel

prejudice toward the outgroup

c. when groups are competing for scarce resources, prejudice and hostility between the

groups will result

d. when a person becomes is thwarted from a particular goal, they feel anger. That anger

will eventually transfer to a blame of the outgroup for the perceiver's plight.

ans. C

p. 51

11. According to theory, we all have a need for self esteem, which fuels

motivational and cognitive biases in social perception aimed at feeling good about ourselves.

a. optimal-distinctiveness

b. social identity

c. social dominance

d. self-efficacy


23

ans. B

p. 47

12. Social Identity theory states that:

a. some people prefer hierarchies in society, and believe that there should be those who

are privileged, and those who are less-fortunate. Those people who endorse this view are

more likely to be prejudiced against outgroups.

b. when two groups are in competition for scarce resources, prejudice will result

c. when a member of a stereotyped group is among a majority group, he/she will be more

noticed, and more likely to be the object of prejudice

d. we all have a need for self-esteem, and that fuels motivational and cognitive biases in

social perception aimed at feeling good about ourselves.

ans. D

p. 47

13. In 1922, coined the term "stereotype."

a. Walter Lippmann

b. Muzafer Sherif

c. Floyd Allport

d. Theodore Newcomb

ans. A

p. 37

14. Researchers in social cognition have established that people are more concerned with making

a(n) judgment, and less concerned with making judgments.

a. accurate; quick

b. quick; accurate

c. considered; quick


24

d. non-prejudiced; fast

ans. B

p. 37-38

15. When we encounter a stereotype-inconsistent member of a stereotyped group, we:

a. scratch our heads in puzzlement

b. pay more attention to that individual, and are more likely to remember his/her

characteristics

c. form a subcategory


ans. C

p. 41

16. We engage in subcategorization when

a. we are confronted with a stereotype-inconsistent member of a stereotyped group

b. we are motivated to think carefully about a target's characteristics

c. it is important for us to be accurate in our social judgments

d. we feel like our ingroup is being threatened by an outgroup

ans. A

p. 41

17. Often, we tend to see relationships between variables that may only be weakly or not at all

related. This is referred to as a(n):

a. stereotype

b. prejudice

c. social heuristic

d. illusory correlation

ans. D


25

p. 42

18. An illusory correlation is:

a. an overestimated discrepancy between the real and perceived self

b. a prejudiced view of the link between an outgroup member's attributes

c. a perceived relationship between variables that are only weakly or not at all correlated.


ans. C

p. 42

19. According to Optimal Distinctiveness Theory, we have a strong need for both and

.

a. efficient cognition, accurate social judgments

b. accurate social judgments, fast evaluations

c. belongingness, uniqueness

d. belongingness, efficient cognition

ans. D

p. 48

20. According to , our frustration at being thwarted from a goal is paired with

negative emotions that we feel about an outgroup. Thus, people come to blame the outgroup as

the people who caused the perceiver's failure to attain a goal.

a. optimal distinctiveness theory

b. realistic conflict theory

c. scapegoat theory

d. relative deprivation theory

ans. C

p. 49


26

21. According to Scapegoat theory, prejudice arises when:

a. one pairs their feelings of frustration from being thwarted from a goal with the

stereotyped outgroup, thereby leading the perceiver to blame the outgroup as the source

of the perceiver's failure to attain the goal

b. two groups are in competition for a scarce resource

c. one group believes it is at an unfair disadvantage relative to an outgroup for the

acquisition of resources and jobs

d. a person believes that the outgroup is blaming him for his own failure to achieve a goal

ans. A

p. 49

22. According to Realistic Conflict Theory,

a. people have a high need for self-esteem, and this can be satisfied by either one's own

achievements, or belonging to prestigious groups

b. when two groups are in competition for scarce resources, feelings of hostility and

prejudice toward the other group will emerge

c. when one perceives that his/her group is not doing as well as an outgroup, he/she will

feel prejudice

d. stereotyped groups also form prejudices and stereotypes about the majority groups.

ans. B

p. 51

23. In Sherif's Robber's Cave experiment, Which theory of prejudice formation (and reduction)

did he test?

a. scapegoat theory

b. relative deprivation

c. social dominance


27

d. realistic conflict

ans. D

p. 51-54

24. What was the one factor in the Robber's Cave Study that led to a dramatic reduction in

prejudice among the boys?

a. physical proximity between the groups

b. subordinate goal

c. a lack of perceived relative deprivation

d. superordinate goal

ans. D

p. 53

25. Initially, to try to reduce prejudice among the boys at the Robber's Cave state park, Sherif

had each group sit every-other-boy in the cafeteria. This tested a basic premise of

a. feedback theory

b. reciprocity theory

c. the contact hypothesis

d. subcategorization theory

ans. C

p. 51-54.

Essay Items

1. Explain in some detail the psychological processes that lead one to favor one's ingroups over

outgroups, in a minimal group situation.


28

2. How do we pay attention to stereotype-consistent and inconsistent information differently

when we are thinking about our own ingroup as compared to when we are thinking about a

stereotyped outgroup? Why is the process different in each case?

3. Explain the conditions under which a stereotype-inconsistent member of a stereotyped

outgroup can decrease the perceiver's stereotypes about that outgroup.

4. Describe the differences between "accuracy-oriented" and "expectancy-confirming" people

with regard to how they approach forming impressions about others.

Activities

1. This is based on a method that early minimal group researchers used in their experiments.

Bring a photo, a PowerPoint slide, or even a real glass bowl of marbles (or gumballs) to class.

Tell the class to take out a piece of paper (or you can distribute 3x5 cards yourself) and write

their name and their best estimate as to how many marbles/gumballs are in the jar. Collect the

responses. "Score" them in front of the class. In reality, there is no scoring, and what you will do

is just assign students a number conforming to your class size and the goal of having about 3

groups. Hand back their sheets with your "score" (e.g., a 1, 2, or 3 written on it). Tell the class

that the 1=underestimators, 2=very close to accurate, and 3=overestimators. Tell the class to

break into their groups in different parts of the classroom. Then show a brief overhead

presentation or PowerPoint slide show of about 12 faces. Near each face on the slide will be a #1,

2, or 3. Tell the class that these numbers correspond to photos of people who answered in the

same manner as students in the current class (same scoring categorization system). Have each

student rate each photo on attractiveness, intelligence, and friendliness. Score and analyze the

data before the next class session. Results should indicate an in-group favoritism, and out-group

derogation effect.


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2. Have students write for 10 minutes about all the childhood sources of stereotypes they were

exposed to, and whether any in particular had a lasting effect on the way they view outgroups.

3. Have students bring in short (less than 5 minutes) clips they've taped (or put on DVD or

PowerPoint) from television that illustrate the perpetuation of any type of stereotype in television

shows or commercials. Students find these entertaining, interesting, and informative.

4. Ask students to write out some illusory correlations (e.g., blonde's have more fun), and explain

why they are illusory.

Web Sites

www.yorku.ca/dept/psych/classics/Sherif - Complete report of Sherif's famous "Robber's Cave"

experiment

www.psych.ucla.edu/faculty/taylor - home page of Dr. Shelley Taylor, prominent social

psychologist and pioneer in social cognition research and theory

www.psych.ucsb.edu/fac/hamilton.htm - home page of Dr. David Hamilton, pioneer in social

cognition theory and research

www.princeton.edu/~psych/PsychSite/ns_fiske.html - home page of Dr. Susan Fiske, eminent

social psychologist and expert on stereotyping. Her work recently has focused on the influence

of power on gender stereotyping.

Documents

The Psychology of Prejudice - Frat Stock...Full file at Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for The Psychology of Prejudice Second Edition Todd Nelson California State University –